Rail-bond.



Nu. 698,179. Patented Apr. 22, |902.

F. H. DANIELS 8. Il. WYMAN. BAIL anun.'

(Application mea me. 2s, m01.

uw Model.)

UNITED; STATES PATIENT OFFICE.

FRED H. DANIELS AND HORACE `W. WYMAN, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHU- SETTS, ASSIGNORS TO AMERICAN rSTEEL c WIRE COMPANY, OF VVORCES- TER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

RAIL-BOND.`

sPEcrFIcATIoN forming para of Letters Patent No. 698,179, dated April a2, 1902-.

- Y -iippnasonriea December 28,1991.y seria No. $7,519. diameter.)

To all whom/ jt l,n't'ctg/lconcern: Y

Be it known thatwaFRED H. DANrELs and; HORACEW.` WYMAN, citizens of vthe'vUnited, States,residing at Worcester, inthecounty of? Worcester and State lof Massachusetts, have jointly invented certain vnew and useful Im-l provements in RailBonds, of which thefollowing is a specification. Our invention vrelates to' rail-bonds for elec-= xo tric railways; and the object of ourinvention is to make an improved rail-bond comprising two terminals or ends and wire strands,"pref erably in two sets, forming the body portionf and extending between the terminals and se-Q 't 5 cured thereto in the mannerto be hereinafter; described. l Y

In ourimproved rail-bond We make the head of the terminal with a depression or recess in itsupper surface,` which isopenthrough the zojupper surface of the headand is of substan-j tially the same depth as the diameterfor thick-y L A rvdie andthe projections or extensions thereon ness of the wire strands which extend'in said' recess. The wire strands are placed in thel recesses in the heads of the terminalsfrom `a 5 the uppersides ofthe-headsan'd are secured:

thereinand to the terminals by pressure or f drop-forging between dies. 'The die which engages the top or outer surface of` the head of the terminal has a series of projections or 3o extensions thereon having sharp edgesand recessesor depressions formed by the proj ections or. extensions and making a roughened surface for the purpose to 'be hereinafter described. The completed terminal willhave on its head or outer surface aseriesvof projections or extensions and recesses or depressions, making a roughenedsurface.

We have found in practice that when the head of the terminal and the wire strands ex- '4o tending in the recess therein,'as above described, are subject to pressure or drop-forgingv betweensmooth'- faced diesfthat the strands are elongated where they extend between the dies, thus reducing their diameter at their pointofI connection with the termiarea, as above described,"that thespaces loe-v 5o '.tween` the strands, where they extend sideby f yside'in the recess in the headof the terminal, vare not 'entirely closed'and the strandslrnade substantially'integral by an absolute union. The spaces left between 'the individual 55 strands, though they may bescarcely visible,- are sufiicientto allow of the entrance of moisa ture, gases, zc., to cause electrolytic action'y on the strands Vand seriously affect the con- .du'ctibility`of thestrands at thisvpoint. We 6o;` have also found thatwe can prevent the elongation of the strands andthe spaces between them, above described,I by, making the die which engagesthe outeigsurfaceof the head Y lof the terminal and the kwire strandswhichr extend in a depression therein ,witha roughvened face'or surface,.comprising a series ofv projections or extensionswithsharp edges thereon, as above described. Y a

The action of the roughened surface of the 7o on the `wire strands is that the sharp edges on theyprojections von .the die which form the roughened surface enter into and break up or` spread the exposed surface ofy the wire plan view of a rail-bond embodying our improvements. Fig. 2 is an edge viewy of the bondshown in Fig. 1 looking in the direction of arrow a, same figure. Fig. 3 shows the 9o .head of `one terminal with the recess therein before the strands of wire are placed therein. Fig. 4 shows the head of one terminal with thestrands of wire in the recess before they are united to the terminal by pressure. 5 is, on an enlarged scale, a detached section of the terminal and the wire strands, shown at the left in Fig. l; and Fig. 6 is an edge view of the parts shown in Fig. 5 looking in the direction of arrow b, same figure.

In the accompanying drawings, l represents the terminals or ends of the rail-bond, preferably madeyin the shape shown, with the enlarged ilat heads l and cylindrical attaching-lugs 1", as is customary. The head l' of each terminal l has a depression or recess 1" in its top or outer surface, (see Fig. 3,) the shape and depth of which correspond to the shape and thickness of the wire strands 2 at their curved ends.

The Wire strands 2 form the body portion of the bond and are preferably flattened in cross-section and arranged in two parallel sets, as shown.- Each set of strands 2 may be made with a curve or bend 2 therein, if preferred, to allow for any expansion of the bond.

The wire strands 2, forming the body portion of the bond, are preferably made from a length of wire by ceiling or bending the wire around two pins or forms on the head of a lathe until there is a sufiicient conducting area to carry the current of electricity. The free ends ofthe wire (not shown) may extend, one upon the inside and one upon the outside of the series of strands, at the point where the curved ends of the strands extend in the recess l in the head l of the terminal l.

In making our bond the curved ends of the strands 2 are placed in the recess 1" in the head 1 0f the terminal 1 from the upper side of the head (see Fig. 4) and then the head and the strands extending in the recess are subject to great pressure between dies, one of which, the one which engages the top or outer surface of the head, has its surface roughened or provided with a series of pro jections or extensions, preferably of square or diamond shape, with lflat tops and sharp straight edges around the tops'and recesses or depressions between the projections to produce a roughened surface on the top or head of the terminal, consisting of a series of projections or extensions a, preferably of uniform size and shape, and a series of depressions or recesses bbetween the projections, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In making the union between the heads of the terminals and the strands the union maybe made with or without a flux when the pressure is applied.

It will be understood that the details of construction of our rail-bond shown in the drawings and above described may be varied, if desired. The shape of the terminals and of the body of the bond may be varied, if desired.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A rail-bond, comprising two copper terminals or ends, each having a recess in its top or outer surface, and wire strands form* ing the body portion and extending in said recess, and secured therein by pressure, substantially as shown and described.

2. A rail-bond, comprising a body portion, and terminals or ends having their heads roughened, or provided with a series of projections .or extensions, and recesses or depressions, substantially as shown and described.

A rail-hond, comprising a body portion, and terminals or ends having their heads studded with projections, substantially as shown and described.

4. A rail-bond, comprising two terminals or ends, each having a recess in its head or outer surface, and wire strands forming the body portion and extending in said recess, and the head or exposed surface of the terminals and of the wire strands, where they extend in the recess in the terminals, roughened, or studded with projections, substantially as shown and described.

FRED H. DANIELS. HORACE W. WYMAN. lVitnesses:

J. C. DEWEY, M. I-IAAs. 

